Fire officials confirm death in northeast Fresno house fire

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Julia Garcia has lived in the neighborhood for over 20 years and says she knew the victim well.

"He liked to joke, he liked to talk," she said.

She was devastated when she heard the news that they didn't make it out.

"We got information on scene that there were people trapped inside," says Fresno Fire PIO Shane Brown. "They attempted to make an interior attack quickly."

Fresno Fire says this all started just before noon and that neighbors reported hearing an explosion before the flames broke out.

"When they got to the scene, heavy smoke was already pouring out of the home," Brown said. "We were trying to access the interior of the home but at every entrance, we encountered heavy fire and heavy heat that was pushing them back."

While battling the flames, a firefighter even stepped through the roof.

"His foot and leg went into the roof," Brown said. "Luckily, his crew was able to get him out quickly. Luckily, he was not injured, so we're thankful for that. It was a close call on this one. We're lucky that firefighter didn't sustain worse injuries."

Another firefighter was hospitalized with minor burns to the side of his face. He didn't realize the burns until later on in the day. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Crews say they had the fire under control in less than an hour. But the one person inside the home never made it out.

There is still no word on the name of the victim or how this fire started.

Fresno Fire also said they spent the afternoon searching the home and looking through debris to confirm there were no other victims.